The British High Commissioner in Nigeria, Mr Richard Montgomery, has disclosed plans to establish a five-million-dollar British battery recycling company in Ogun State.
Montgomery noted that the company when established, will be the first of its kind in Africa, making Ogun the leader in battery recycling in Africa.
He stated this on Wednesday when he led some officials of the commission on a courtesy call to Governor Dapo Abiodun in his office at Oke-Mosan, Abeokuta.
Montgomery said: “My brief visit to this state is about the deal put together for recycling, which is moving out of Lagos State and establishing a new plant here for recycling e-waste. The Ogun Invest and the Director General, Lands, are working to ensure the deal comes off the line, and I am glad to be here to join the final conversation. I think that will bring new technology and new jobs to the state.
“For the first time, it is now possible to recycle the cell back into chemical form in Africa and export the black mass, which contains the minerals inside the battery, to make new batteries.
“It is really exciting that we received support from Ogun Invest, and officials from the Bureau of Lands confirmed the Certificate of Occupation. We can say that the investment will be about five million dollars, and we want Ogun State to be the place where this industry can grow.”
He maintained that his country would also like to participate in energy, technology, tertiary education, and agricultural processing, and also explore how to find more United Kingdom-linked companies to invest in the state.
Montgomery stated that British International Investment, a financial development institution, has invested in one of the major cashew processing and export companies, adding that his country is ready to offer technical assistance to the state’s mass transit system, which is currently being tested.
Responding, Governor Abiodun noted that the deliberate provision of road infrastructure and other amenities was to attract more investments to meaningfully impact the lives of the people.
He added that the establishment of the Ministry of Transportation, the development of the Transportation Master Plan, and the building of a cargo airport were some of his takeaways from participating in a summit in the United Kingdom in 2020.
He said: “We are open for business. Our administration has made the environment attractive. We have reduced bureaucratic bottlenecks to the barest minimum. We have made land acquisition seamless for investors. We have grown our economy.
“Ogun State is effective and forward-thinking. I want to thank the High Commissioner for the support we have enjoyed from the British Foreign Office.”
